Surviving Silence

At times the silence amplifies

I pray my ears can’t hear it

But then it sinks beneath my skin

And swells until I fear it

My mind begins to race again

With thoughts I once had buried

And worries sing their anxious songs

Of doubt that I have carried

Oh tasks that I can cross and check

I know you don’t sustain

But could you come and steal away

This slow and silent pain?

The shadows come and dance about

Within this tiny space

Where I am held, against my will

Alone, myself, I face

I hold my breath, then dive headfirst

Into this pool of thought

Swimming through the darkest blues

And longing I forgot

There, submerged in solitude

I find an eerie rest

Small, exposed, and broken

But loved, embraced, and blessed

I ease into the comfort

Of the silence that I feared

And sit within my loneliness

Because your hand appeared

At times, the silence comes again

With noise I hope will cease

But then I yield, and enter in

And welcome struggle’s peace

-C. O'Connell-